Author(s): Andrew Meier

Russian

The author takes readers on a revealing tour of contemporary Russia, discovering a country searching for its post-Communist identity in surprising and sometimes deadly ways. With the power of "Lenin's Tomb" and "Balkan Ghosts, " this is an illuminating portrait of contemporary Russia--a country in limbo, a land of vast potential struggling with an unfinished past. "Black Earth" is a penetrating view of the new Russia from a bold new voice in political journalism. 7 maps. "A COMPASSIONATE GLIMPSE into the extremes where the new Russia meets the old," writes Robert Legvold ("Foreign Affairs) about Andrew Meier's enthralling new work. Journeying across a resurgent and reputedly free land, Meier has produced a virtuosic mix of nuanced history, lyric travelogue, and unflinching reportage. Throughout, Meier captures the country's present limbo--a land rich in potential but on the brink of staggering back into tyranny--in an account that is by turns heartrending and celebratory, comic and terrifying. Review Quotes: "A wonderful travelogue that depicts the Russian people yet again trying to build a new life without really changing their old one." First published 2003.